A confession: We can't stand Pete Rose. Ignoring his loutish tendencies in his personal life or his complete lack of understanding of a human being not named Pete Rose — and that includes Pete Rose Jr. — we just can't fathom how anyone could forgive him baseball's one unforgivable sin. Not only should the guy be banned from baseball, he shouldn't be allowed within 50 miles of a stadium unless the place is about to blow up and he's the only one who knows which wire to cut. And even then, we'd rather him just call it in.

In another shoot-himself-in-the-face PR move, Rose reportedly almost signed an endorsement deal with Betus.com, an online bookmaker. Rose's agent ultimately decided that, uh, that might not be the best way to make it to Cooperstown, at least in any way that doesn't involve selling Pete Rose-autographed protected cups to dudes who look like the "Stump the Schwab" guy. But hey: Pete Rose. He ran to first base on walks. American Hero.